Hi everyone, I'm working on my first costume that I'm hoping to get approved and I could use some help! This is only the third costume I've made and I'm a relative newbie at sewing, so I'm a little intimidated, but also very excited about it and looking forward to the challenge! (My first two costumes, which I made last year — Hoth/Bespin Escape Leia for myself and ANH Han Solo for my husband — would likely never be approved without significant revamping.)

I also found this pattern (McCall's M7202) which looked like my best bet for the cowled, hooded cloak (as long as I lengthen it considerably): https://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m7202. Does this look like a good choice to you all?

Interested to see how this will turn out.
This costume seems in the comics it could be very stylish!

Regarding the buns and the cylinder, I could probably help in a little bit of time by 3d modeling them, if you think it should be hard and not soft.
The cylinder would not be problematic, in facts, it seems to be same style than slave leia's one.

For the buns well, would be far more tricky but could probably be doable.
Do you think it's kind of half sphere with dents in it painted black (a bit like the orb of infinity from guardians of the galaxy), or do you think it's not dents but lot of holes ?

@Ritin Kornas, thank you so much for your help! That's a great idea about 3D modeling the hairpieces — I'll consider it! I believe my husband has access to a 3D printer so we may be able to do it ourselves. I also got some suggestions on the Bun Squad and Ladies of the Legions Facebook groups about using craft foam, Sintra/Worbla or even hot glue, then painting it to look metallic.

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Do you think it's kind of half sphere with dents in it painted black (a bit like the orb of infinity from guardians of the galaxy), or do you think it's not dents but lot of holes ?

The bun covers are supposed to be filigree so it's an intricate design with a lot of holes/cut-out bits so you can see the hair beneath._________________"I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to BE art." - Carrie Fisher

Today I got a pair of hair extensions (Kanekalon silky smooth) in the mail, and I had a lot of fun playing around with them to try and nail down the hairstyle! Here's my first trial run (featuring my just-out-of-the-box blaster). I have a few kinks to work out, but overall I think it went pretty well:

_________________"I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to BE art." - Carrie Fisher

Cool ! Can't see it's any extension like that
so she has 2 different hairstyles right ?

RacheLeia wrote:

@Ritin Kornas, thank you so much for your help! That's a great idea about 3D modeling the hairpieces — I'll consider it! I believe my husband has access to a 3D printer so we may be able to do it ourselves. I also got some suggestions on the Bun Squad and Ladies of the Legions Facebook groups about using craft foam, Sintra/Worbla or even hot glue, then painting it to look metallic.

Well, those can be good solutions too. And if you have access to a printer and don't need to go through the prohibitive cost of professional printer, in the end there is no big difference of price between each of those technics. I would not recommend the craft foam however if you want to keep your piece a long time, also given the shape of the buns covers, seems overly complicated for me to do it with foam as you can't apply it on a master shape like worbla for example.

In the end it will depend what you prefer I think. Here is my thinking on the different things, if it can help, to have work with all of them

Hot Glue : Will be super easy to just draw lines on a master shape (a bun, be sure your master shape in priming so you can pill off easily the glue). This will make the process of getting the holes naturally during the build. So it will probably be the fastest and cheapest of all three. However it will be hard to post process the piece (forgot sanding on hot glue for example) and if you want sharp line it will be hard. One possibility to counter act that would be to remove it from the master shape (probably need to make so cut and re-glue that together, like for worbla, see after), and then return it like socks.
It then end you will have something flexy. And the paint on it should stick ok if you go for acrylic, but not super durable.

Worbla : I think the easiest would be to form it (double thickness worbla) on a master shape, then cut lines to pull it off and join it back together. And then either use knife blade to cut the shape, or for something more organic, maybe use a hot tool, like a welding iron to punch holes in it See punching methods can also be used for 3D printed part). Surface is not really great if you want flat metal look, but it will be directly perfect for an antique metal one.
If you put 2 layers of worbla to double the thickness or even 3, should be more sturdy than glue but still a bit flexy.

3D print : Assuming you print with PLA/PETG or ABS and not a flexy filament, you will need a bit of sanding and post production, but this one will be really sturdy compared to the other two methods. Also, it will be the easiest one (from far) to get a smooth surface if you want to get flat shiny metal look and if you want to polish the paint too. Paint should last long. You can also achieve antique paint look I think if you sand it with a rough grit (50 or so) in a circular pattern to avoid lines. As I said it can also be done as just a bun for a very easy model, and then punch holes in it with hot tool for an organic and unique feel. Just take care of fumes if you do so, whatever plastic it is, and wear a mask for solvant (not the poodoo ones against dust).

That's my analysis of the three methods ^^ hope it can help you make your choice.

Ritin Kornas — thank you SO much for your detailed analysis of the methods! And yes, she has 2 different hairstyles, one of which the bun covers are optional for (the one I posted pictures of earlier). I'd like to be able to do them both!

Lora Skywalker — thank you so much for your input! I will have to find that other thread! The cloak pattern may end up being the bane of my existence. I've spent hours poring over cloak patterns at Joann, but I really couldn't find anything better as this was the only one I could find that combined a cowl and a hood. I was planning on heavily modifying it so it doesn't fasten at the front and so that it's much longer. I could also make the hood bigger if I need to. If anyone has any better suggestions for patterns, though, let me know!

I am at least 75% done with my jumpsuit! All that's left to do there is hem the sleeves and sew on the zipper placket and various patches. Here are some pictures I took tonight. Apologies for the room in progress in the background of the last two. Also the waistband looks really awkward where it's attached near the zipper but that should be covered by the placket.

As you can see, I modified the original jumpsuit pattern to add the curved yolks in the front and back. I also got rid of the seams that separate the torso from the legs in the front, and added a seam down the front of each leg that was continuous with the princess seams.

I've been trying to decide what fabric to use for the cloak. The standards require it to be white, off-white or cream-colored and a matte, medium-weight fabric. I'm personally imagining something that has a nice woven texture to it, not too dissimilar from the cloak Padme wears with her jumpsuit in AOTC (which I honestly wonder if the Leia costume was inspired by). I've checked Joann and Hobby Lobby and didn't find anything I was 100% happy with, but here are a few options I found at Joann:

This is an ivory cotton monkscloth. I liked the two-way woven look of this one the best, but it didn't seem like the best texture — it was a little scratchy and stiff and would probably have an issue with wrinkling (though not as bad as a twill).

This is a nice rib knit that I really liked the feel of, but I'm not sure how it would look in a cloak with such an obvious one-way grain?

I'm pretty sure this one isn't approvable but I'm posting it anyway for reference. It's an acrylic sweater knit, and I like the idea of so much texture. It's a little too shiny on one side, but I was thinking if I did use it or something like it I could use the non-shiny, smoother side as the outside. It's a bit too dark of a cream for my tastes though.

I guess if all else fails, there's always flannel, shown here in white or cream. I'd prefer something with a little more of a woven texture though.

Any suggestions?_________________"I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to BE art." - Carrie Fisher

Are these still approvable? I know they have a little strap in the back near the top and the standards say the boots need to have no decorations, but do you think I'd be able to take that off/modify it in a way so it would be approvable? I guess the other question is that the spats according to the standards are supposed to have no visible closures, and these have a zipper on the inside part of the leg.

I'd really love some feedback on this. These are the best ones I've found so far, but I'm not sure whether they can be approved or not. If not, does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do? Thanks._________________"I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to BE art." - Carrie Fisher

I like what you have done with your jumpsuit so far. Looks well fitted.

Honestly not sure about the boots. Hmm.

For the cloak, maybe garbadine? I've had a woolen garbadine in my hands before and liked the feel and weight of it.
Of course, the tricky part with the comics is that they tend not to show any texture to the fabrics; the fabric are almost always very smooth and plain. So I wouldn't go for anything with too much texture._________________DXO of Royalty & Senatorial detachment

Wow, I apologize, I really slacked off with my updates! I got a version of my costume ready in time for a con at the end of October, but I still have more things to do before I send it in for approval. Here's a couple pictures from the con — I'd love feedback:

I kind of doubt that the vest will be approvable. I made it out of a thrift store jacket. What do you all think? Either way, I'll be making the cloak according to standards, and the cloak version of the costume is what I'll try and have approved.

The gloves ended up being too dark, so I'm planning on dying them a lighter brownish tan with Tarrago leather dye (as it claims to be able to dye leather lighter).

That holster was the most challenging part of the entire thing, as this is the first time I've worked with real leather and in the end I had about four days to get it done before the con. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, though I'm planning on tightening it as it's hanging too low on my hips (and making a few other adjustments, too). It was difficult to figure out the proportions of the holster part, as the blaster is larger and would come down farther below her knee than it looks in the comics. It's like when she puts it in the holster, the end of it is magically sawed off, lol! I tried to compromise between the art and reality as best as I could.

The boots were a surprise find at a thrift store! Genuine leather, with no ornamentation. Eventually I might try to figure out a way to do the spats, but seeing as those are optional I'm not going to worry about it right now.

Lora Skywalker wrote:

For the cloak, maybe garbadine? I've had a woolen garbadine in my hands before and liked the feel and weight of it.
Of course, the tricky part with the comics is that they tend not to show any texture to the fabrics; the fabric are almost always very smooth and plain. So I wouldn't go for anything with too much texture.

Ooh thank you, this was exactly the advice/suggestion I needed! I ordered some samples of some white and ivory polyester gabardine from OnlineFabricStore.net, and after seeing how they both looked with the jumpsuit I ended up ordering the white. Unfortunately I got an email a few days later saying my order's been delayed due to it being temporarily out of stock. It's been a few weeks since then and I'm starting to get a little worried. Hopefully it will come in soon — I'm ready to get back on this!_________________"I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to BE art." - Carrie Fisher

You look really great !
The problem of blaster's end magically disappearing is something that seems to happen really often Or you have some other stupid things like that when it's not a live props (example : hera head set, supposed to rotate so the goggles come to her eyes I guess... but how it is constructed, then it would fell of her head so she can't use them...)

Regarding the vest, I must say it still looks great, but I don't think it will be approved by the judges as it lacks the yoke, and it should not have the pockets :s

Please keep us updated with further developments ! _________________CO Rebel Legion Helvetica Base (serving Switzerland)
Member of the RL Galactic Senate Council

I think you have already mentioned the things that needs to be done; tightening the belt, lighten the gloves, new vest/cloak, upgrade boots at some point. Jumpsuit looks well done, so unless you have missed something completely I think you are good there._________________DXO of Royalty & Senatorial detachment

Hi everyone, I'm working on my first costume that I'm hoping to get approved and I could use some help!
Thanks everyone!

Your costume looks great!! My friend asked me to do this costume with her as she is going to be Evaan and I am researching now. May I ask what material you used for the bodysuit? I really like how yours looks!_________________

Thanks again to Ritin Kornas and Lora Skywalker for your feedback, it's much appreciated!

Here's my current to-do list to finish this costume, based on my assessment and the feedback I've gotten here:

1. Stitch a corner of one of the leg patches back on (the thread snapped in the wash — apparently my hand-stitching skills need some work!)

2. Make the cloak (the biggie)

3. Dye the gloves lighter

4. Fix the problems with the belt

My white polyester gabardine finally came in right before Christmas, so I'm ready to start the cloak once I know for sure what I'm doing!

So, the cloak: I've spent some time looking at the Padme arena cloak since I always thought this one was modeled after that one, but after more inspection I now see a lot of differences. The shape of the cloak is different, and Padme's doesn't have a hood. I'm not quite sure how to articulate the following, but I'll try: Padme's cowl seems to have two free-standing ends like a scarf, which are thrown over the back or tucked under (again, like a scarf). On the other hand it looks like Leia's cowl doesn't have ends; instead, there's just a big hood in the back. ....Well, to be precise, that's what it looks like in most images. In a few, it almost looks like there's another, longer cowl in the back underneath the hood. *shrug* Curse the comics and their inconsistencies!

As of right now, I'm still planning on using McCall's Pattern M7202 version D (https://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m7202), with heavy modifications. I'll need to make the cloak much longer, and squared off instead of round. And obviously no attachments me in the front. I'll also need to figure out how to make the hood/cowl look right. One option I can think of: Make the hooded part of the cowl much larger and more hood-shaped. Then, since the pattern has a scarf-like cowl with two ends kind of like Padme's, take the two ends and (after shortening them) attach them together in the back behind the hood (perhaps attaching them to the neck as well). Alternatively I could leave them long before attaching them; that might make the additional cowl beneath the hood that I see in some pictures. Otherwise I'll try to hide them underneath the hood. Any advice on which look I should pick? I'm leaning towards hiding the ends as that seems to be simpler and what it looks like in most pics, but I'd appreciate feedback (or alternate suggestions entirely).

Thanks everyone!_________________"I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to BE art." - Carrie Fisher

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